Afridi set to recover from knee injury in time for T20 World Cup

Shaheen Afridi is on course to participate in the T20 World Cup next month, after a knee injury that interrupted his BBL stint was found not to be as worrisome as previous ones which forced him out of the game for some time.

Afridi was called back from Australia at the turn of the year after he hurt his right knee while playing for Brisbane Heat. With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, the PCB were keen to begin his rehabilitation immediately.

That appears to be going well and Afridi expects to return to bowling next week. "My rehab is ongoing, with the PCB team monitoring it," Afridi told reporters at a talent hunt launch event for Lahore Qalandars. "I'm doing gym work and working on my batting at the moment. I'll start bowling from next week.

"It's not as serious as it was last time. There's a bit of swelling on the bone. The MRI report wasn't that [concerning], this might not take a month. It's more like a week."

Afridi was referring to previous injuries to the same knee, which were of a more serious nature. In 2022, he sustained a posterior cruciate ligament injury to the right knee while fielding during a Test match in Sri Lanka.

That ruled him out for nearly half a year, including from the early stages of the T20 World Cup that year, after a somewhat botched rehab process. He returned for the later stages of Pakistan's campaign but picked up another injury at a crucial moment in the final and could not bowl at the death as England took the title.

Afridi played four games for Heat, conceding 11.19 runs per over in return for just two wickets. He was removed by the umpires from the attack in his very first game for dangerous bowling, after bowling two full tosses above waist height. He has, however, been in better form for his country in the format, ending last year as the third-highest wicket-taker after the spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed.

Afridi was part of a sizeable contingent of Pakistani players in this season's BBL, alongside Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan. Their on-field impact has been mixed: Babar has two fifties at a strike rate of 111.96 for Sydney Sixers and Rizwan's strike rate is less than a hundred for Melbourne Renegade. Rauf and Shadab have had a relatively better time of it.

"There's always ups and downs in any sport," Afridi said. "But the aim is to learn from everywhere so that when you play for your country, you've improved. Our focus was that we see how we can improve when it comes to playing for our country, what errors can we rectify, what good things we can continue with. It's not necessary that you go there and take five wickets every game or score a 50 or 100 in every game. Babar is also human. Everyone is trying to improve.

Afridi's team-mates are in Sri Lanka currently, involved in a white-ball series that serves as a valuable recce ahead of the tournament. Pakistan will play all their World Cup games in Sri Lanka, the co-hosts along with India.

"We've played a lot of good cricket over the last year," said Afridi, who was appointed the ODI captain last year. "Anytime you go to a country before a tournament and play some games there, it helps the players and I hope it does in this case also."